Target students

Bachelor’s and Master’s levels. Students who have an interest in intercultural studies, intercultural / multicultural education and social justice, but also sociology and anthropology. No background in intercultural studies or Chinese language needed.

Synopsis

The world is changing dramatically, and we need new ways of explaining and understanding what is happening when people meet across borders (national, regional, cultural, linguistic borders, etc.).

In the first part of this exciting course, new critical perspectives from the fields of multicultural / intercultural communication and education are proposed. Basic concepts such as culture, globalisation, identity and diversity are introduced and critically reviewed.

The originality comes from using China to illustrate the second part of the course. The One Belt, One Road Initiative, which promotes connectivity and cooperation between different continents, is a great example of today’s new global world. The initiative aims to support infrastructure networks, as well as cultural and educational collaboration. This example is best suited to work on today’s interculturality.

Working together and with the lecturers, the participants will analyse different documents about the initiative and discuss what interculturality is and what it entails. The participants will learn to transfer the acquired knowledge and methods related to interculturality to other contexts.